Meet More Chances

Sukang Iloko is a cane vinegar known of its sour taste. Its mild sharp
taste is great for pickling and making sweet and sour sauces. It is
believe to have a property to tenderize meat, thus it's often used as
a part of marinade.

Sukang Iloko is produced in the northern region of Ilocos, where sugar
cane is widely grown and harvested. Cane vinegar is also produced in
the US like in Hawaii and California.

In Laoag City, a manufacturer is trying to revive the pure sugar cane
vinegar. Sugar cane is fermented in traditional jars. And the process
takes more than a year to get the perfect sharp taste.

The company received assistance from the government to improve the
quality  of production as well as for better packaging. Technical
assistance provided like filling machine, pasteurizer and bottle
cleaner. Trainings were provided for proper labeling and packaging.
Financial management assistance was given like simple bookkeeping.

Using the technology, the company has tried to come up with other
tropical fruit wine and soon experimented on fruit vinegar. And the
more effective label and more efficient packaging gave them the
opportunity to penetrate not just the national market but as well as
the export market.

Sukang Iloko are now sold in leading supermarkets nationwide. And it's
been exported mainly in Guam, Hawaii, California as well as South
Korea.

If you're planning a vacation in Ilocos and want to taste sour vinegar
of the region, you'd easily find a shop or store along its highways.
These shops also sell salt and fermented fish sauce.

San Nicolas, Ilocos Norte is famous for its Damili or Pottery
industry. But if you are planning for a trip up north you'd probably
want to drop by the town and take home some of its tasty and mouth
watering food products.

Bagnet and ilocos longganisa are famous in the entire provinces of
Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur. It is available in almost every market in
these  provinces.


Bagnet is a classic way of cooking pork, wherein large pork chops are
deep fried until it turns deep brown in color and becomes crispy. Then
chopped into bite size and served along with different sauces. It can
be chopped tomatoes and shallot(sibuyas) with fish paste(bagoong na
isda), chili flavored vinegar (sukang iloko na may sili), soy sauce
with lemon(calamansi) chili and vinegar, or simply ketchup.

Ilocos Longganisa is the garlic flavored sausage. The pork intestines
are stuffed with ground pork, seasoned with garlic, salt, vinegar and
pepper. It is an old way of preserving meat. The secret to a better
longganisa is that it is sun dried for a few hours, letting the extra
fat drip out.


San Nicolas meat vendors are proud of their bagnet and longganisa
because it is known to be real tasty. They are available in the town's
public market everyday. And along with them are araet, adobo and
dinardaraan.


Araet is more commonly known as igado. It is made from pork tenderloin
and innards like liver, kidney and heart. It is sauteed with soy sauce
and vinegar, garlic and onions, seasoned with pepper. Other igado
recipes includes bell pepper, peas and others add carrots. But this
araet doesn't include any other vegetable but it provides delicious
and tasty flavor better than those with vegetables.

The best igado in town is found at the Dawang's Place, an eatery
located just about 500 meters away from the Robinson's Department
Store. And some of its specialties are: chocolate meat (dinuguan or
dinardaraan) which has deep fried meat bits; grilled pork (tinuno)
served with fresh tomatoes; kilawen or raw beef slices dressed with
bile(papait); and paksiw or beef soup.

Adobo is a very popular Filipino dish. But the adobo being sold in the
San Nicolas public market is different. It is made of pork innards
such as intestines, liver, kidney and interestingly the ears and
tongue. And they cook it as a whole part not chopped into smaller
pieces. The reason why is, for customers to choose which part are they
going to buy. And then you may slice it into bite size. It's very
delicious especially the ears and the innards. Season it with a little
chili flavored vinegar and there you go. You won't really expect those
parts to be yummy but they sure will ruin your diet.


So if you have plans in visiting Ilocos Norte, drop by San Nicolas
with an empty tummy and you will give a big burp as a thank you.

Nowadays, coffee shops cater to indulgent coffee lovers, from espresso
shot to frappe. Coffee mixes are as well available in sachets for
people on-the-go. Coffee drinking has now become habitual.

But have you ever heard of rice coffee? How about soybean coffee? They
are not just cheaper than coffee but it is a healthier alternative.
Rice is known to combat stomach disorders. The anticancer properties
of soybean is one of the reasons why some people believed that it is a
miracle food.

In Banna, Ilocos Norte, farmers had the initiative to start selling
rice coffee to generate extra income. Rice is one of the main crops in
the province and rice coffee has started during the early years of
World War I.

The farmers struggled in finding the right market. But through the
help of government agencies, a cooperative was created and rice coffee
was introduced in the local market.

Simple Method of Making Rice Coffee:

Hybrid rice grains are sorted out and roasted until golden brown. Then
it is powdered to enjoy an instant cup.

Half a teaspoon may be enough for a cup of hot water, just add
sweetener and cream, then you may enjoy the sweet aroma of rice
coffee.


Ilocos Norte grows legumes like mungbean, peanuts and soybean.  The
first entrepreneur who ventured in the production of rice coffee,
started business with soya and peanut products. There are varieties of
soya products aside from soybean coffee like milk, burger and steamed
cake(puto).

The business needed a better technology for efficient production and
improved packaging. They received assistance package funded by the
government agencies which included equipments like roaster and grinder
as well as stainless preparation table, basins and containers, heat
gun and display cabinet.


The government assistance has played a great role in the improvement
and marketing of the rice coffee industry. The new packaging which
included nutrition analysis and barcode has provided a better image
and appeal to customers.

Rice coffee and soybean coffee are now available in big establishments
and online markets. Remember that both are better alternative to
coffee because it contains no preservatives and is caffeine free.

Chichacorn or cornick is a favorite snack, not just by Ilocanos but is
now popular nationwide. It is fried and crunchy glutinous white corn
kernels. Made special by the garlic seasoning and made even more
tempting by the additional flavouring like cheese, sweet and spicy,
barbecue and the Filipino favorite, adobo. Chichacorn is a great snack
during movie marathon, can be an alternative to popcorn.

Corn is widely produced in the Ilocos region, making the cornick or
chicacorn one of the major processing industry. Corn is a seasonal
produce and the quantity of harvest varies on the cultural practices
of farmers.

The demand of chichacorn production has continuously increased. This
paved way for better business opportunities to the people in Paoay,
Ilocos Norte. The export market gate for chichacorn has opened and the
demand is already  high.

The government agencies provides assistance with the improvement of
facilities and equipments. This is for better quality of production
and more informative label and packaging.


Simple Method of Making Chichacorn:

The kernels are separated from the cob manually. Dried under the sun
for about a week.

The dried kernels are then boiled in a lime solution for two hours to
detach the pericarp. The boiled kernels should be rinsed well.

Then it will be boiled for about seven hours in water. And again dried
under the sun for three days.

The kernels are now ready for deep frying. Let it just cool for an
hour after the drying process.

After frying, set aside and let it cool. Season with salt and fried
garlic. Flavouring can be added as well such as cheese and barbecue.


Chichacorn are actually available nationwide and is exported to some
other parts of the world.